Lit. Standing striking board.Tachi Machiwara, or Standing Machiwara is one of the trademarks of the Shinjinbukan School. It is common to refer to the Tachi Machiwara simply as Machiwara. It is considered one the oldests training tools used in Ti. In the old days Okinawan built the Tachi Machiwara mostly outdoors digging a hole into the gound and supporting the wooden board with two large stones.

The Outdoors Machiwara offers a unique feel and recoil on every hand strike. Nowadays, Tachi Machiwara are mostly built indoors, bolted to the floor, or sometimes, using a base attached to the wall. This type of training should only be carried out under the direct supervision of a qualified instructor. Any misuse of the Tachi Machiwara can cause serious injuries. See Tachi Makiwara , Machiwara , Makiwara , Ti Machiwara , Sagi Machiwara , Outdoor Machiwara (photos)

This is the proper use of the Dōjō floor, which must be kept clean, neat and organized at all times. Therefore, all students must remove their shoes prior to entering the Dōjō. And they must understand their proper place in the layout of the floor. In addition, all students are required to do sōji (clean the Dōjō floor) at the end of class.

Lit. Iron Armor. Okinawan weapon used in Kobudō. It is held with a closed fist and made to fit the hand width. It has several protruding points by the knuckles. Tekko could be made of iron, aluminium, steel, or wood.

Lit. Change direction or course. Tenshin is one of the three basic elements of Ti. It is used to generate an effortless and powerful body movement and acceleration. One of the trademarks of the Shinjinbukan School is the use of tenshin to create an immense thrust for each tsuki (hand strike) and keri (foot strike).

Tenshin is commonly defined as "Body Displacement". This is a very superficial definition because tenshin is more than just moving from point A to point B. Tenshin could be compared to the breath of life: "Without air, we can't live. And without tenshin we can't move or use our body efficiently". In fact, tenshin is directly connected to the use of breathing techniques. For this and other reasons, a more holistic definition of tenshin would be: "The most efficient method of body mechanics used to generate body movement".

Furthermore, according to Onaga Kaichō, "Our bodies do not move back and forth, but only left or right". The reasoning behind this approach is that we do not have four legs. Consequently, we do not have front or back legs, only left and right. See tsuki, keri, tsuki, keri, tenshin

Lit. Ti practitioner (Okinawan dialect). The term Tichikaya could also be described in Japanese as "Ti moteru hito". It refers to a person who holds the knowledge of Ti. In the Shinjinbukan School, and for those who follow the path of Ti, the term "Tichikaya" is preferred to that of Karateka, and this is reflected by the official song of the Shinjinbukan School. SeeTe , Ti , Karateka , Onaga no Ti , Ryūkyū no Ti , The Shinjinbukan Song

Lit. Sparring. The term Ti Gumi is "suggested" for use with beginner students in order to move away from Kumite by introducing basic ideas from Kakie and Iri Kumi. In the early 20th century several authors described a free-style sparring in Okinawan Karate with the term Ti Gumi. In Uchinaguchi (the Okinawan dialect), the word Ti Gumi is written with the same Kanji (Chinese characters) as Kumite but in reverse order. Listed below are a few personal perspectives of Ti Gumi. SeeKakie , Iri Kumi , tenshin , kumite , nā

Lit. The Art or skill of the hand. Ti Jutsu is a generic term used during the early 20th century, when the term Karate had not yet been adopted by the Okinawans. It implies some amount grappling techniques without fighting on the ground.
See Tōdi

Lit. Handheld striking board.Ti Machiwara, or Handheld Machiwara is one of the trademarks of the Shinjinbukan School. Due to its small size, it provides a lot of flexibility for a practitioner. Training using a Ti Machiwara could be done at the Dōjō as well as at home or while riding a train or a bus. The use of Ti Machiwara allows a beginner student to focus in the correct wrist and elbow position. For an advanced student, Ti Machiwara, provides the ability to practice on small movable target that represents the opponent's vital points. This type of training should only be carried under the direct supervision of a qualified instructor. Any misuse of the Ti Machiwara can cause serious injuries. See Ti Makiwara , Machiwara , Makiwara , Tachi Machiwara , Sagi Machiwara , Ti Machiwara Basic Drills (photos)

Lit. Jumping exercises. These jumping drills target the muscles used for keri (foot strike) and are not a “jumping game” or the typical fighting moves used in sports Karate. The body mechanics mechanics of Tobiundō targets the core, calves and ankle muscles; while maintaining a straight seichūshin (body center axis) and avoiding swinging the arms or stomping the floor with the heels.

The term Tobiundō is not explicitely used by Onaga Yoshimitsu Kaichō. The drills listed below are typical examples of different types of Tobiundō practiced at the Shinjinbukan Honbu Dōjō in Okinawa. The nanes of these drills are also not explicitely used by Onaga Kaichō, but they are based on commonly used Japanese terminology. The descriptions in English may provide some helpful insight about these drills. 1) Nawatobi — Rope Jumping 2) Kaeru Tobi — Frog Jumps 3) Usagi Tobi — Rabbit Jumps 4) Sutobi — Short Fast Jumps in Heikō Dachi and Neko Ashi Dachi 5) Sutobi Swing — Short Fast Jumps with Swing in Heikō Dachi or Neko Ashi 6) Sutobi Aruki — Short Fast Jumps with Walking-like motion 7) Sutobi Cross — Short Fast Jumps w/crossing legs 8) Chōyaku (Takaku ni) — High Vertical Jump 9) Sutobi Kaiten — Short Fast Jumps with 90° and 180° turns 10) Sutobi Kaiten — Short Fast Jumps with 360° turns 11) Sutobi to Ashi Kōtai — Short Fast Jumps, change feet in Neko AshiSee chūsoku, keri

Lit. The Tang (China) hand. The Okinawans used the term Tōdi instead of Karate before their martial arts was introduced to mainland Japan. Since the word Tōdi means Chinese Hand, it had to be changed to the name karate, using more “modern” characters: 空手. This was more than a departure in terminology but part of the standarization and cultural changes of the Meiji Period (1868 — 1912). These socio-political changes brought Okinawan culture and government under Japan and away from China's sphere of influence.

Lit. The Tomari Hand.
An early form of Okinawan Karate that originated in the town of Tomari. Tomari Ti is not a style of Ti, as many Karate books written in the late 20th century have asserted. By contrast, there are no historical sources from the 19th century or earlier to support any claim that Tomari Ti was a style of Ti.

Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the first Karate styles were beginning to emerge. At the time Karate curriculums and stylizations were in an early stage of development, and no official names were given to each style. Instead, names like Tomari Ti were used to group practitioners by geographic location. Hence Tomari Ti was used as a generic name for an early style of Karate that was still in development at that time.

During the early 20th century, practitioners were not concerned with written explanations. Therefore, it is necessary to keep into account the cultural differences that existed between the Okinawan dialect, known as Uchinaguchi, spoken by the early Karate masters, and the standard Japanese language later adopted for all standard Karate terminology.

A pure lineage of Tomari Ti didn’t continue past the early 20th century, but it was mixed into modern styles, like Matsubayashi Ryū. Chintō is one of the forms from the Tomari Ti tradition still practiced by many Karate styles. See Chintō

Lit. A thrust, a lunge, to pierce, a stab. A Karate hand strike. In the Shinjinbukan school, there is lot of emphasis on tsuki training. Tsuki is often misunderstood as a punch. Onaga Sensei defines a punch as fast push. On the other hand, a tsuki is a hand technique that goes through the opponent’s body. See keri , tenshin , tsuki, keri, tenshin

Lit. Hand strike, foot strike and changing direction. Tsuki (hand strike), Keri (foot strike), Tenshin (changing direction or movement) are the three basic elements of Ti. Every technique, every Kata, every block, every attack or counter attack are just a combination of "Tsuki, Keri, Tenshin". For example, a block doesn't really exist, because it is only a combination of these elements. Hence, "Tsuki, Keri, Tenshin" are the building blocks of the Shinjinbukan System.See tsuki, keri, tenshin , tsuki, keri, tenshin

An Okinawan weapon used in Kobudō. It resembles a police baton with a handle. However, in all traditional weapon styles tunfa is practiced with a set of two – one on each hand. It originated in Okinawa as an improvised weapon, which was a wooden handle taken from a millstone used for grinding grains. See tonfa

Shinjinbukan.com is a free resource sponsored by the Shinjinbukan Foundation. The statements on this site represent my own personal understanding of Onaga Yoshimitsu Kaichō's teachings. Therefore, I do not claim to speak on his behalf. As one more of his students, I am eager to share his living and oral traditions. Jimmy Mora